An instruction manual on how to save money

Target Red Card

The Target.com – REDcardis the best debit/credit card you can own if you do a lot of your shopping at Target. The Red Card offers a 5% discount on almost all of your purchases at Target stores and on Target.com. There is no cash back rewards credit card that even comes close to matching that.

How it works

Unlike some rewards card, the Red Card is simple to use and doesn’t require you to remember to go to your credit cards website to ask for your money back. All you have to do is swipe your Red Card when you make purchases at Target and 5% of the total cost is automatically taken off of your bill.

The card comes in two varieties, the debit card and the credit card. The debit card is not issued by your bank, it is issued by Target even though it takes the money directly out of your bank checking account through an ACH debit. This is known in the banking industry as a decoupled debit card.

While your bank’s debit card may come out of your account immediately, the Red Card’s transactions work through a different payment system that takes a day or two to clear your account. This means that after you use your Red Card debit card you should know how much money is in your account and to make sure you don’t subsequently withdraw too much or your account may become overdrawn. The only advantage the Red Card debit card has over the credit card option is it is easier for people with lower credit scores to be accepted to qualify for the debit card.

The Red Card credit card option works exactly like any other credit card except that it can only be used at Target. After you make a purchase and get your 5% discount you will get your monthly statement several weeks later and must pay your bill at that time.

Other advantages

Besides the 5% discount there are other advantages to having the Target Red Card. If you buy online from Target.com you get free shipping in addition to the 5% discount.

Although you don’t get the 5% discount on purchases made at the pharmacy department, Target has another program called Pharmacy Rewards. If you sign up for this program after filling 10 prescriptions Target will mail you a coupon for a 5% discount that is stackable (can be used in addition to) with the 5% discount you get with your Red Card which is stackable with whatever other coupons or other deals you may be able to find.

That means that after purchasing 10 prescriptions you will be able to get 10% any purchase at Target no matter how large. I recommend that if you know you are going to be making a large purchase at Target, such as Christmas shopping, purchasing furniture, etc. that you wait until you get a 5% off coupon so that you can get the full 10% discount. When you make your purchase at 10% off, this is also a good time to stock up on any nonperishable groceries you will use such as canned goods or other food with a long expiration date.

TL/DNR

Because of the huge variety of items that can be purchased at reasonable prices at Target Stores, the large discount of 5%-10%, and the fact that you don’t have to jump through hoops to redeem your rewards the Target.com – REDcardis the best rewards credit card you can have if you do a significant amount of shopping at Target stores.

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